Apparatus for deleading gasoline



May 17, 1949- J. D. MORGAN ETAL APPARATUS FOR DELEADING GASOLINE Original Filed May- 8, 1945 Patented May 17, 1949 APPARATUS FOR DELEADING GASOLINE John D. Morgan, South Orange, Sylvan It. Merley, Riverton, and Wayne E. Smith, Haddonfield, N. J., assignors to Cities Service Oil Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Pennsylvania Original application May 8, 1945, Serial No.

592,578. Divided and this application February 7, 1946, Serial No. 646,032

2 Claims.

This invention relates to an apparatus for removing the ethyl anti-knock agents from motor gasoline in accordance with the process described in our copending application, Serial No. 592,578, filed May 8, 1945, now abandoned, of which this application is a division.

The demand for gasoline as a fuel for internal combustion engines is so great as to overshadow substantially all other uses. The petroleum industry accordingly devotes its major effort to the improvement of its product for this one special use, blending together those fractions which will give best performance, and adding various agents which serve to reduce the knocking qualities of the fuel. The best of the antiknock agents so far developed is a mixture of lead tetra-ethyl, and ethyl bromide, and under ordinary conditions substantially all gasoline contains a greater or lesser percentage of ethyl fluid. There is always a need, however, for some straight gasoline, as a fuel for stoves, for dry cleaning purposes, as a grease solvent, and for hundreds of other purposes where the use of a leaded gasoline may be dangerous because of its essentially poisonous nature, or where it may be unsatisfactory from other points of view. Interestingly enough, the use of high octane leaded gas as a fuel for small air-cooled engines of from A to 5 rated horsepower has proven highly unsatisfactory, the lead deposits, gummy matter and other decomposition products having a tendency to cause the valves to stick and to clog the engine parts, and in some cases, to result in the burning of the valves within a very short operating period. Straight gasoline has been proven to be a more effective and less destructive fuel for this specialized purpose, and where it is employed, these little engines will stand up under field conditions for many thousands of hours of active service.

The quantity of straight gas which is required for the foregoing and other miscellaneous uses is, of course, very small in proportion to the vast amounts Of leaded fuel that must be furnished for automobile, tractor, aircraft, and other uses.

In an industry where bulk transportation forms the backbone of the distribution system, the supplying of what may be thought of as minute quantities of straight gasoline raises extremely troublesome problems, all of which become peculiarly acute in maintaining a flow of various grades of gasoline to the armed forces in the field. Even the slightest consideration of the great difliculties which must be involved in furnishing a few gallons of straight gasoline to each- 2 of the field kitchens Of the army, and to each of the many thousands of small motor generator sets of the kind employed by the Signal Corps should suflice to illustrate the gravity of the overall problem.

The principal object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for removing lead-bromine anti-knock compounds from commercial motor gasoline or the like to produce a fuel which is as suitable for cooking stoves, small gasoline engines, etc. as is conventional straight motor gasoline, and more especially to provide a small and highly mobile gasoline treating unit of this kind which lends itself to ready transportation from place to place, which is sufficiently self contained to require only a supply of leadedgasoline for continuous operation, and which is of such simple design and construction as not to require technically trained help for its safe and eflicient operation.

The full nature of the invention and the manner in which the foregoing and other objects may be attained, will be more fully understood from a consideration of the following descrip tion, in the light of the accompanying drawing, in which the single figure is a diagrammatic showing of a preferred form of gasoline treating apparatus.

The gasoline treating process which forms the subject of our above identified parent application may be briefly described as comprising the steps Of passing leaded gasoline in a confined stream through a heating zone, of heating the gasoline in that zone to a temperature at which its contained ethyl anti-knock compounds will decompose into asoline insoluble products, of simultaneously vaporizing the gasoline so that it may sweep the ethyl decomposition products from the zone, of mechanically separating the gasoline vapors and the ethyl decomposition matter, and of finally condensing the clean vapor to form a product having substantially the properties and characteristics of the original gasoline prior to the addition of the ethyl anti-knock fluid. We have obtained excellent results in the deleading of -octane all-purpose motor fuel at temperatures between 700 and 850 F., with a reaction time of from 2 to 5 seconds. It will be apprec'iated, however, that both the temperature and time factors which are employed will depend to some extent upon the type of gasoline under treatment, these factors being varied appropriately to avoid excessive thermal cracking, reforming, or other chemical change in the fuel during the deleading treatment.

In carrying out this process in the apparatus illustrated in the drawing, pump ill serves to withdraw leaded gasoline through inlet line H from a source such as drum l2 and to discharge it at a rate determined by the settin oi valve 5 13 in bypass; line Mjthrough; a flowmeter l5. and 1in""l6,to" the cold side i! of a heat exchanger which is indicated diagrammatically by numeral I8. It will be assumed for the purpose of description that the leaded: g'asolineenters the. exchanger at ordinary atmospheric temperature, say around 70 F., and that the unit is operating under equilibrium con ens, leaves the exchanger at a temperature qJromQ300 toege? F. This stream of warm gasoline is discharged at a substantially constant rate through line I 5, and check valve 20, to the *inlet 015- a" confined heating zone represented by pipe coil 2|, wherein it is further heated by the products of combua,

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The partially cooled gasoline is led from exdenser 34; wherein it is liquefied, and the resulting"'condens"ate is' discharged through line 35 intotreceiver 36 at a temperature of about that of the surrounding atmosphere. Line 35 preferablyter m inates iga distributon extending; along the bpttom of; reservqiniifi; with. its; outlet. holes. 9% .151; 9F1 0. S9.. hat, Wet; vapors: which are n rained: th; the rundpown; Product; m y be unii xmln. is ributed o; promote-V e r! ab or-p tion by the stored prodllfili. It: will be furtherl iden hat; hese; wet: vapors; to eth r with ny; xe g ses n he un-rclcwnl produ prouqet l; m r; ess c ns ant; agitation of the. stored asoline thus serve.- to; prevent. the

in; separator: 26;

1.. ternal; heatin process of; this kind there is; so;ne tendency towards the-formation of fixed gases; and-to; their; collectioniin therun. d qwn tanlg. Tank; 36; is therefore preferablyt main ained; vapo ieht; and} is. provided: with a safety valvefifhwhich isgsetfltozrelease fixed gases ir 1 th e eventthat; theipressure in the tank risesr hpv a a u f: a out 2 /21 p undsp squ The-;vapor ressure intank-V364: is accordingly sufficient under normaliconditions to estab-.. lish a fl ofr' strai ht: gasoline: through dis charge;111153 519;v and filtersl4.0gwhich-serve to col-- lect; any,;fi ne insoluble matterwhich. hasnotbeen removed :bv, centrifugal za'ction =in separator: 26;,- and to; discharge; thaproduct through i shut-7.. 01f: valor/8e41,; into icarryingl cans L42; or to apoint o fdirect; usage Itawillf beanoted however that: the-unit is provided'withz. alfittingvua containing: a conventional air-valve; (not :shown) to which a hand pump may be:- coupled or, a; standard air chuck; applied; for the: purpose oi 1 building up ai gpressure;;in; the tanlgj3fi;-;to a valuegoir about 2) pounds zglsquare-inch-ewhich' will serve to deliver; ga sgli-n throu h tslfilterslwhen-the autogenous: r .su elin heemm: slinsumcientiro l that pur-. DQSQQ.

It will be apparent, OixCOlllISi-Ey. that during, the; peration D-the.-

v apcrr essures en ra ed az h s i 3 er.- e oupte e tt nw backfiow. V IQIIkhlfic 9Qdl $er 34 ;towards :the; ep rate? h nt el ad m n tais;idle; ho. .l-r

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1 st ll d: in; hat ha t: whiGh'r liquefaction tlpp sin rmalln i sa W p efer t erm t: 11 elsasl n l m essl p ss clcse r p roxi in M l tia atha' QSiEaa :co st ucthiq a. o t o -ar e; makes5v tion of apparatus in which the process is practiced, as well as to minimize hazards of operation. In the illustrated unit, for example, pump I discharges leaded gasoline at a pressure of about 30 pounds per square inch, most of which is lost in overcoming friction in flowmeter [5, in cold side ll of the exchanger, check valve 20, and the various intervening lines. The pressure maintained in the confined heating zone is of the order of 2 to 5 pounds, being only sufficient to maintain continued flow through heating coil 2|, separating chamber 26, hot side 32 of exchanger l8; and through condenser 34. It will be appreciated, however, that the process is not limited to the use of pressure within this stated range, and that where the deleading unit constitutes something in the nature of a permanent installation it may be arranged to operate at such higher or lower pressures as may be found to, promote most efficient operation in the treatment of various types of leaded gasoline.

The illustrated deleading apparatus has been designed primarily as a mobile and self-contained unit which may be mounted upon a two-wheeled trailer for transportation into the field with army supply troops. Its various parts have been arranged, therefore, with a View towards maximum simplicity, ruggedness and independence of outside facitities. The unit accordingly includes a tank 55 into which leaded gasoline may be dumped in small quantities for the purpose of accumulating a minimum inlet charge for pump 10. It will be understood, of course, that this tank is primarily intended for use when the leaded gasoline is vailable only in small unit containers such as a standard five-gallon G. I. can, and that under normal operating conditions gasoline will be drawn from one or more standard drums such as those shown at l2.

The heating equipment for coil 2!, and for the preheating of separator 26, is also of the simplest and most readily available kind. Thus burner 22 is a standard army field kitchen gasoline burning unit, while preheater 3! is nothing more than the head of a standard gasoline blow torch, both of which are arranged to be supplied with gasoline from tank 52 through line 53 by air pressure maintained in reservoirs 55 and 56. The use of two reservoirs with a reducing valve 58 between them is again an incident arising out of intended field operation of the unit. Thus air may be pumped manually into reservoir 55 by the use of a conventional hand pump coupled to valve unit 51, until the pressure therein is raised to 60 or more pounds per sq. in. This high pressure air then flows through automatic reducing valve 58 to maintain a substantially constant pressure of 40 pounds per square inch in the second reservoir 55, an arrangement which of course makes intermittent hand pumping possible while maintaining a constant pressure on the gas supply line.

It is to be noted that ethyl gasoline has no advantage over straight gasoline as a fuel for this kind of burning equipment. In fact, its use frequently gives rise to serious operating problems by reason of the tendency of the ethyl decomposition products to clog up the burner orifices. We prefer therefore to employ straight gasoline in tank 52, which may, of course, be the product produced by the practicing of this invention in the illustrated unit.

It will also be observed that condenser 34 is designed to be cooled by air discharged over its outer surface by fan 59. In the illustrated unit the condenser comprises four substantially standard'extended surface units of the kind normally used for steam heating and the like, each of which consists of several rows of interconnected tubes 60 having upstanding fins 6| arranged at closely spaced intervals along their outer surfaces. The mounting of the several units is such that fan 59 discharges air over the condenser tubes in a direction which is generally counter to the flow of gasoline condensate therein, so that the coolest air will be in transfer relation with the coolest gasoline and vice-versa to obtain maximum effectiveness.

Th field unit also includes a motor generator unit of the kind widely used by the army signal corps, consisting of a small gasoline engine 63 coupled directly to a volt alternator 64 having an output capacity of about 1000 watts which serves to drive fan motor 64 and pump motor 65. and for the operation of such other auxiliaries as may be required. It has been noted hereinbefore that ethyl gasoline has a very destructive effect upon small engines such as this. We accordingly prefer to use a straight gasoline in the motor generator unit, which may, of course, be the end product of the practicing of this invention in the illustrated unit.

The deleading unit described above has an output capacity of about 30 gallons per hour. In starting up operation, burner 22 and preheating burner 5! are both employed to preheat coil 2| and separator 20 to suitably high temperatures as indicated by thermometers 66 and 61, before a flow of leaded gasoline is established. When in the course of about a half hours operation, equilibrium conditions are obtained, valve I3 is set to establish a fiow of leaded gasoline through the heating coil at about the rate indicated above, as indicated by flowmeter I5; burner 22 is set by an adjustment of its valve '23 to maintain the desired decomposition temperature of from 750 to 850 F. in the oil; and burner 3! for the separator is of course shut off. The several instruments mentioned above, together with a condensate thermometer 68, liquid level gage 69, and the pressure gages 10, H and I2, serve to give an indication at all times of vital operating conditions within the unit and accordingly form a basis for suitable adjustment of control valves l3 and 23 so that the deleading process may be carried out most efficiently and effectively. In actual practice we have found that this degree of instrumentation, coupled with the extreme simplicity of the operating controls, suffices to permit the unit to be operated safely and on a continuous field basis by unskilled operators, and that technically trained help is not required.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new is 1. A portable unit for removing ethyl antiknock compounds from gasoline comprising an inlet for liquid ethyl gasoline, a pump connected to said inlet, a pipe coil defining a heating zone, a first conduit connecting the outlet of said pump with the inlet of said zone, means for regulating the quantity of liquid ethyl gasoline delivered by said pump to said coil, a gasoline burner for heating said coil, means for regulating said burner said pump and burner regulating means serving conjointly to control the temperature in said coil within the range of from 750 F. to 850 F. whereby to vaporize such gasoline and decompose its contained ethyl anti-knock compounds, a centrifugal separator for separating ethyl decomposition products from vapor generated in said coil, a second conduit connecting the outlet of Said 0011* tothe mm of said' separator; a seriesof interconnected finned t-ubes'serving as a vapor condenser; afan=fov discharging=air at normal ats mospheric temperature over said tubes, a third conduit" connecting the outlet; of said= separator Withthe-inletof said condenser; and aaheatinterchanger havingits hot -sideoonstitubing a portion of said thirdconduiti'and" itscold side constituting a; pordaion: of said first-conduit:

22 A portable unit" for removingethyl antilmock compounds from gasoline according to claim 1 characterized by a tank for colleoting com densate from theoutlet of said* condenser tubes, and; by mechanical filters connected to the outlet from. said tank.

JOHN D. MORGAN: SSH-VAN R. WAYNE E; SMITH;

REFERENCES CITED.-

UN ITED" STATES PATENTS T Number,- Name Date 10,067, Bower Aug. 27.; 1889 1582, 4,0;7. King; Apr-.27; 1926 13525350; Parker: ..7 Apr; 1;.1930 138153366 Stratfqmi luly. 21 ,1931 2 121004.- Nelsqn -v Aug. 16,1938 2; 2l9 l0l Einwall Oct; 22; 1940 2 397,142 Howard Mar. 26,1946 

